You have heard it from me plenty of times, but I will say it again.  Business Development is all about building long-term, trusting relationships.  Support your business development efforts with marketing tools and you will have a well-rounded approach. Today I want to share my top 5 recommendations for marketing your services:

• Personal networking and relationship building by individuals– people buy people almost 100% of the time. Be consistently honest, helpful and accessible for people and they will come to trust in you and your skills.
• Solicit and respond to client feedback– whether you do a formal client survey initiative or cherry-pick specific individuals.  Gather information about how you are doing. Furthermore, don’t just ask for client opinions, act upon their feedback.
• Seminars– attend, develop, run or speak at seminars and workshops.  The idea is for people to see you and your knowledge in action.
• Trade associations– don’t just join groups. Roll up your sleeves and make things happen for the members of targeted trade associations.
• Content distribution– the idea here is to get your knowledge in front of people. Show them what you are made of.  Distribute your content through your website, blog, social media outlets, printed articles or speaking opportunities. Don’t hold back– share helpful information with your target audience.

Use my top 5 marketing/business development activities in a systematic way.  Keep your goals focused and be sure that all of your activities forward your plan in a meaningful way.  Always keep your relationships at the center of all you do and the rest will fall into place.